Sensing systems of nonpolar gas molecules without functional groups such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remain difficult to develop because of lacking selective detection of such molecules over other gas molecules. Here we report a supramolecular fluorescence sensor for LPG using a 2-nm-sized cube-shaped molecular container i.e. a nanocube self-assembled from six molecules of gear-shaped amphiphiles (GSA) in water. The nanocube selectively encapsulates LPG, while it does not bind other gas molecules. Upon encapsulation of LPG in the nanocube, the fluorescence from the nanocube is enhanced by 3.9 times, which is caused by the restricted motion of the aromatic rings of GSA in the nanocube based on aggregation-induced emission. Besides the high selectivity, high sensitivity, quick response, high stability of the nanocube for LPG, and easy preparation of GSA satisfy the requirement for its practical use for an LPG sensor.

由于缺乏相对于其他气体分子的选择性检测，没有功能基团的非极性气体分子（例如天然气和液化石油气（LPG））的传感系统仍然难以开发。在这里，我们报告液化石油气的超分子荧光传感器使用2纳米大小的立方体形分子容器，即从水中的六个齿轮状两亲物（GSA）分子自组装而成的纳米立方体。纳米立方体选择性地封装了液化石油气，而它不结合其他气体分子。将LPG封装在纳米立方体中后，来自纳米立方体的荧光增强了3.9倍，这是由于基于聚集诱导的发射，GSA在纳米立方体中的芳香环受限制的运动所引起的。除了用于液化石油气的纳米立方体具有高选择性，高灵敏度，快速响应和高稳定性外，